Charles Bukowski's
Barfly :: Hank's Life in a Movie

In 1987, a director named Barbet Schroeder
finally convinced Charles Bukowski to write a screenplay
for a feature length film. The film was called, "Barfly" and
was essentially a snapshot into the life of Buk's alter ego, young Henry
Chinaski. Chinaski, was played by Mickey Rourke and his love interest,
Jane was played by Faye Dunaway.

Jane
Cooney Baker was Bukowski's first real lover. They had a tumultuous
relationship that spanned about ten years. The relationship was doomed
from the start. Jane drank heavily in an attempt to drown personal demons
from a previous marriage that ended in tragedy. She surfaced throughout
Bukowski's prose and poetry quite often. Perhaps this was the only way
he could cope with her eventual death from alcohol abuse.

In the film, Bukowski painted humor and tenderness
in equal strokes. Jane and Henry often are involved in hilarious escapades,
Bukowski writing about himself through his alter ego, Henry Chinaski.
One scene in particular alluded to a real life story involving stolen
ears of corn from a field next to their apartment. Chinaski also had a
passion for fighting. His nemisis in the movie was a bartender who loathed
him. Needless to say, they fought often.